Sunday February 9, 2025
FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (C)
Office: Psalter Week 1, Te Deum
Mass proper; Gloria. Creed.
Preface of Sunday
Vestment: Green
Today’s Rosary: Glorious Mystery
Vespers II of the 5th Sunday of the year
NNEWI: Tomorrow is the 23rd anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of Most Revd Hillary Okeke, February 10, 2002
Theme of the Sunday: CALLED BY CHRIST TO SAVE ALL HUMANITY. The first reading and the gospel describe two vocations, that of Isaiah, chosen as prophet, and that of the apostles, transformed by Christ into “fishers of men.” When Isaiah first heard the call of the Lord, he became aware of his frailty. How could his impure lips speak in the name of God? Peter, when called by Jesus to be a “fisher of men,” like Isaiah, felt unworthy. And yet God chose them for his mission. We are called by God to be prophets like Isaiah and “fishers of men” like Peter. Have we forgotten that God will purify us and will do wonderful things through us? In the second reading we have other examples of people chosen for missions. They are the witnesses to the resurrection of Christ. Like Isaiah and Peter, Paul feels unworthy of the vocation he received from God. He calls himself imperfect and unworthy of being called apostle. But in spite of being a sinner, Paul became a great announcer of the Gospel.
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Ps 94: 6-7
O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.
THE GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you. We bless you. We adore you. We glorify you. We give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
COLLECT
Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ ………
FIRST READING
“Here am I! Send me.”
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-2a.3-8)
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 138:1ac-2a.2bcd-3.4-5.7c-8 (R. 1b)
R/. In the presence of the angels I praise you, O Lord.
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
You have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I praise you.
I bow down towards your holy temple. R/.
I give thanks to your name
for your merciful love and your faithfulness.
You have exalted your name and your promise over all.
On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased the strength of my soul. R/.
R/. In the presence of the angels I praise you, O Lord.
All earth’s kings shall thank you,
O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
“How great is the glory of the Lord!” R/.
With your right hand you save me;
the Lord will accomplish this for me.
O Lord, your merciful love is eternal;
discard not the work of your hands. R/.
SECOND READING
“So we preach and so you believed. ”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15: 1-11)
I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The word of the Lord.
Or shorter:
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:3-8.11)
Brethren: I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The word of the Lord.
ALLELUIA Matthew 4: 19
Alleluia. Follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“They left everything and followed him. ”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 5:1- 11)
At that time: While the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they lefl everything and followed him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Creed (I Believe)
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Celebrant:
God calls each of us to his mission, unworthy though we are. Let us then ask for the grace to faithfully and sincerely respond to this call and for our other needs.
FOR THE CHURCH: that she, who has been entrusted with the mission of Christ, may steadfastly continue the work of evangelization, bringing people into the kingdom of God. We pray O Lord.
FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: that they may see their leadership positions as privileges to serve humanity and that through them, the dignity of human persons may be promoted. We pray O Lord.
FOR INCREASE IN VOCATIONS: that God may call more people to labour in his vineyard, and give to those afraid to answer the call the realization that it is God who perfects those whom he calls. We pray O Lord.
FOR THIS COMMUNITY: that we may encourage vocations in every way, and be enthusiastically involved in the mission God has called us to. We pray O Lord.
FOR OTHER INTENTIONS: (the sick, church projects or other activities).
FOR THE DEAD, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF OUR PARISH COMMUNITY AND FAMILY MEMBERS: that they may find eternal rest with the Lord. We pray O Lord.
We pray in silence for our private intentions.
Celebrant:
God our Father, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to give us the perfect revelation of your nature. Help us to answer your divine call and make ourselves available for your mission. Through Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen.
TODAY’S SAINT AND QUOTE: St Josephine Bakhita – February 9th
Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!
TODAY’S REFLECTION
There is a saying that ‘God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.’ This holds true in the call of Isaiah and in the calls of Jesus’ first four disciples. Isaiah saw himself as unfit, saying, ‘I am a man of unclean lips,’ when God called him but his uncleanness did not stop God from calling him. What was necessary was his response and readiness to change. For the first four disciples, they were completely unfit to be in the presence of Jesus, as Peter said: ‘Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ The fact remains that willingness to render service to God and to humanity is what God wants from us. He continues to call each of us to leave everything else to do his will and spread the Gospel. We only need to ask ourselves whether we are responding to his call or ignoring it. Just as God is ready ‘to remove our wickedness and purge our sins’, we must be ready to leave everything hindering us from heeding his call.
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL
“Don’t get a reputation for being a gossip, and don’t tell tales that will hurt people. Just as thieves will suffer disgrace, so liars will suffer severe condemnation”, Sirach 5:14
- Pray for the grace to have courageous faith in Jesus in times of adversity and refrain from point fingers.
- Pray for those Christians especially users of this daily reading app, passing through difficult times that Christ should meet their needs according to riches and glory.
Let us pray,
I declare by the grace of God, that I will love my neighbour by refusing to have a judgmental spirit. I refuse to focus on the sin in my neighbour’s life as opposed to the sin in my own. I will, however, be bold enough to challenge my neighbour in love and to pray for areas of bondage, pain, injustice, and sin in their life. I will love my neighbour by understanding that love doesn’t always feel fuzzy, but often challenges and calls out something greater so that he can experience the fullness of Christ.
Memory Verse: Sirach 5:27
